Outhouse Editor

I don't get it. Not in the "Grant Morrison lets throw crap against the wall and see what sticks" I don't get it, but I don't get what the appeal here is. Mindless violence and a lame story. Even the revelation between the kids made me roll my eyes more than be in shock.

This is why I guess I'm not a fan of Millar. He goes for those moments that are supposed to shock you but never tells a good enough story that makes you really care. On the other hand McNiven's art is some of the best on the market. Didn't like the bloody scenes much but man were they drawn really well!

Outhouse Editor

I don't get it. Not in the "Grant Morrison lets throw crap against the wall and see what sticks" I don't get it, but I don't get what the appeal here is. Mindless violence and a lame story. Even the revelation between the kids made me roll my eyes more than be in shock.

This is why I guess I'm not a fan of Millar. He goes for those moments that are supposed to shock you but never tells a good enough story that makes you really care. On the other hand McNiven's art is some of the best on the market. Didn't like the bloody scenes much but man were they drawn really well!

Story: 1Art: 10My Score: 4

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Good-bye.."

OMCTO

So here's my pick. I had thought about picking Machete, but I hate movie-based comics. They bring back too many memories of buying crappy Indiana Jones comics as a kid.

I thought about picking Our Army at War. But I loathe French Resistance stories because they tend to give the French an overly heroic war effort, when, in fact, many "resistance" fighters were simply black marketeers while the rest of France collaborated with the Nazis. There were of course valiant French Resistance fighters, but too many stories have been told about this relatively small group and not enough stories have been told about the scumbags in France at that time.

So I'm picking Franken-Castle #21. Why? I don't read the book. But I looked at the preview, and the art reminds me of the painted covers on the long-forgotten magazine, The Rampaging Hulk. In other words, it has a great '70s feel to it. And I'm a sucker for anything that reminds me of the '70s.

OMCTO

So here's my pick. I had thought about picking Machete, but I hate movie-based comics. They bring back too many memories of buying crappy Indiana Jones comics as a kid.

I thought about picking Our Army at War. But I loathe French Resistance stories because they tend to give the French an overly heroic war effort, when, in fact, many "resistance" fighters were simply black marketeers while the rest of France collaborated with the Nazis. There were of course valiant French Resistance fighters, but too many stories have been told about this relatively small group and not enough stories have been told about the scumbags in France at that time.

So I'm picking Franken-Castle #21. Why? I don't read the book. But I looked at the preview, and the art reminds me of the painted covers on the long-forgotten magazine, The Rampaging Hulk. In other words, it has a great '70s feel to it. And I'm a sucker for anything that reminds me of the '70s.

Review Grouper

This shit is rad... it is big, dumb, over the top and I love it. I am not expecting too much substance or thought provocation when I read a Mark Millar penned comic just fun and blood. I don't want all my comics to be like this but there is nothing wrong with an occasional blockbuster style comic in my stack. I will say this... aside from the issues taking forever to come out I am rarely disappointed with Millar (Civil War ending still sucked) because I typically know what I am gonna get and the fact that he gets the best artists to draw his stuff makes it all the better. Steve McNiven is freaking awesome and the page with the baton going through the back of homeboys head and coming out of his mouth was so good ... I would write a longer review but like I said there is not much substance here but that doesn't make it a bad read.STORY - 8.9

Review Grouper

This shit is rad... it is big, dumb, over the top and I love it. I am not expecting too much substance or thought provocation when I read a Mark Millar penned comic just fun and blood. I don't want all my comics to be like this but there is nothing wrong with an occasional blockbuster style comic in my stack. I will say this... aside from the issues taking forever to come out I am rarely disappointed with Millar (Civil War ending still sucked) because I typically know what I am gonna get and the fact that he gets the best artists to draw his stuff makes it all the better. Steve McNiven is freaking awesome and the page with the baton going through the back of homeboys head and coming out of his mouth was so good ... I would write a longer review but like I said there is not much substance here but that doesn't make it a bad read.STORY - 8.9

Outhouse Editor

This shit is rad... it is big, dumb, over the top and I love it. I am not expecting too much substance or thought provocation when I read a Mark Millar penned comic just fun and blood. I don't want all my comics to be like this but there is nothing wrong with an occasional blockbuster style comic in my stack. I will say this... aside from the issues taking forever to come out I am rarely disappointed with Millar (Civil War ending still sucked) because I typically know what I am gonna get and the fact that he gets the best artists to draw his stuff makes it all the better. Steve McNiven is freaking awesome and the page with the baton going through the back of homeboys head and coming out of his mouth was so good ... I would write a longer review but like I said there is not much substance here but that doesn't make it a bad read.STORY - 8.9

Outhouse Editor

This shit is rad... it is big, dumb, over the top and I love it. I am not expecting too much substance or thought provocation when I read a Mark Millar penned comic just fun and blood. I don't want all my comics to be like this but there is nothing wrong with an occasional blockbuster style comic in my stack. I will say this... aside from the issues taking forever to come out I am rarely disappointed with Millar (Civil War ending still sucked) because I typically know what I am gonna get and the fact that he gets the best artists to draw his stuff makes it all the better. Steve McNiven is freaking awesome and the page with the baton going through the back of homeboys head and coming out of his mouth was so good ... I would write a longer review but like I said there is not much substance here but that doesn't make it a bad read.STORY - 8.9

ART - 10

OVERALL - 8.9

"Now, you can release the prisoners."

Last edited by GLX on Sat Sep 25, 2010 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Staff Writer

Story - I'll say this for Mark Millar, he's not particularly subtle. Nemesis #3 is perhaps one of the most in-your-face boom-tastic comics I've ever read. There's no nuance here, there's not much depth.

But that's not really a problem.

I don't mind a lack of depth and nuance when a comic is as balls-out entertaining as this. Not every comic has to be Neil Gaiman or Jeff Lemire, it's OK to just have explosions. Now this may sound like the kind of defence you often here from idiots about Michael Bay movies, but I feel that even though Nemesis is kind of dumb, it's a good kind of dumb, it's not aggressively dumb. It's got a kind of wit, it's got an edge to it. I may have enjoyed 23 pages of mindlessness, but it was a good kind of mindlessness. If that makes any sense.

This issue is basically made up of two halves, the first is a blistering action sequence where Nemesis busts out prison, taking on nearly a 100 Prison Guards by himself. Millar wisely stays out of this sequence as much as possible and let's McNiven do his ultra-violent thang. There's an audaciousness about the level of violence and the spectacle of the escape here that really made me smile, it's so over-the-top, and it's brilliant. Millar is often accused of just writing comics to be made into movies, but on the basis of this sequence, even if it's true, it shows it's not a bad thing. This was an amazing bunch of pages, and one that will look really amazing if and when Nemesis does become a movie. Millar just writes great action set-pieces, and that's why Hollywood looks to him, he's not adjusting to their whims, they are noticing his.

The second half of the story is shocking in a different way. Nemesis kidnaps the hero's kids, forcing him to reveal 3 shocking secrets about his family. The revelation of the flaws in the heretofore perfect Blake Morrow's family life did well to undercut a character I felt was a little ridiculous in issues 1 and 2, and went some way to adding realism to what is an altogether fantastical story. I'm also prepared to have the rug swept from under me again in issue 4, with a possible reveal that Nemesis is not exactly who he says he is. Millar may actually be playing a more intelligent game here which I've underestimated in the face of kidnapped Presidents, gay kids and forced incest. Yes, I did say forced incest.

The next step Nemesis takes is much more shocking, as he uses science to impregnate Morrow's daughter with genetic material from his Gay son, and rigs it so that if they try an abortion, her womb will collapse.

I mean, what the fuck?

Some readers will probably be offended by this, and it is crass for sure, but it's also very shocking and actually surprising by how mental that is. I can't imagine any other writer (apart from maybe Garth Ennis) putting something like this into a comic. Too many books these days are just not surprising, and Nemesis should be applauded for having the guts to just go where other books won't.

This review may be a bit defensive, a bit intentionally luddite, defending a loud, unsubtle comic book, but I think at times we need more than a breath of fresh air to shake the comics world up a bit, we need a blast of hot, cordite air to rock us and shock us. I'm not a stupid reader, I welcome an intelligent, quiet character study as much as the next person, but sometimes a comic should be a rollicking good time, we need books like Nemesis and Loeb's Hulk, to show us the scope of the comic book page, the level of pure visceral action they can convey, and the shocks they can deliver. Nemesis isn't particularly clever, but it is big, and it's a lot of fun.

Artwork - I mentioned how Millar wisely let McNiven handle the big fight sequence on his own, and it couldn't be more true, the 3 and a bit pages where Nemesis fights the Prison Guards are a pure delight, they are gore-splattered for sure, and that may turn some readers away, but they have a beauty of their own, and the kinetics of those panelsis really something. There have been rumblings that McNiven's work here has not been as good as his previous collaborations with Millar, and whether that's down to him inking his own pencils, or to deadline pressues, there is certainly something a little rougher than before, but he can still nail sequences, and he can still deliver top-notch art. Really great.

Story - I'll say this for Mark Millar, he's not particularly subtle. Nemesis #3 is perhaps one of the most in-your-face boom-tastic comics I've ever read. There's no nuance here, there's not much depth.

But that's not really a problem.

I don't mind a lack of depth and nuance when a comic is as balls-out entertaining as this. Not every comic has to be Neil Gaiman or Jeff Lemire, it's OK to just have explosions. Now this may sound like the kind of defence you often here from idiots about Michael Bay movies, but I feel that even though Nemesis is kind of dumb, it's a good kind of dumb, it's not aggressively dumb. It's got a kind of wit, it's got an edge to it. I may have enjoyed 23 pages of mindlessness, but it was a good kind of mindlessness. If that makes any sense.

This issue is basically made up of two halves, the first is a blistering action sequence where Nemesis busts out prison, taking on nearly a 100 Prison Guards by himself. Millar wisely stays out of this sequence as much as possible and let's McNiven do his ultra-violent thang. There's an audaciousness about the level of violence and the spectacle of the escape here that really made me smile, it's so over-the-top, and it's brilliant. Millar is often accused of just writing comics to be made into movies, but on the basis of this sequence, even if it's true, it shows it's not a bad thing. This was an amazing bunch of pages, and one that will look really amazing if and when Nemesis does become a movie. Millar just writes great action set-pieces, and that's why Hollywood looks to him, he's not adjusting to their whims, they are noticing his.

The second half of the story is shocking in a different way. Nemesis kidnaps the hero's kids, forcing him to reveal 3 shocking secrets about his family. The revelation of the flaws in the heretofore perfect Blake Morrow's family life did well to undercut a character I felt was a little ridiculous in issues 1 and 2, and went some way to adding realism to what is an altogether fantastical story. I'm also prepared to have the rug swept from under me again in issue 4, with a possible reveal that Nemesis is not exactly who he says he is. Millar may actually be playing a more intelligent game here which I've underestimated in the face of kidnapped Presidents, gay kids and forced incest. Yes, I did say forced incest.

The next step Nemesis takes is much more shocking, as he uses science to impregnate Morrow's daughter with genetic material from his Gay son, and rigs it so that if they try an abortion, her womb will collapse.

I mean, what the fuck?

Some readers will probably be offended by this, and it is crass for sure, but it's also very shocking and actually surprising by how mental that is. I can't imagine any other writer (apart from maybe Garth Ennis) putting something like this into a comic. Too many books these days are just not surprising, and Nemesis should be applauded for having the guts to just go where other books won't.

This review may be a bit defensive, a bit intentionally luddite, defending a loud, unsubtle comic book, but I think at times we need more than a breath of fresh air to shake the comics world up a bit, we need a blast of hot, cordite air to rock us and shock us. I'm not a stupid reader, I welcome an intelligent, quiet character study as much as the next person, but sometimes a comic should be a rollicking good time, we need books like Nemesis and Loeb's Hulk, to show us the scope of the comic book page, the level of pure visceral action they can convey, and the shocks they can deliver. Nemesis isn't particularly clever, but it is big, and it's a lot of fun.

Artwork - I mentioned how Millar wisely let McNiven handle the big fight sequence on his own, and it couldn't be more true, the 3 and a bit pages where Nemesis fights the Prison Guards are a pure delight, they are gore-splattered for sure, and that may turn some readers away, but they have a beauty of their own, and the kinetics of those panelsis really something. There have been rumblings that McNiven's work here has not been as good as his previous collaborations with Millar, and whether that's down to him inking his own pencils, or to deadline pressues, there is certainly something a little rougher than before, but he can still nail sequences, and he can still deliver top-notch art. Really great.

Best Line - 'Okay. Now you can release the prisoners'

8/10

Last edited by Punchy on Sat Sep 25, 2010 5:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Rain Partier

Remember when Mark Millar used to write smarter comics? Before he started writing comics for dummies? Because no one's as smart as Mark Millar, or the stand-ins for his juvenile violent daydreams, er I mean protagonists. Nemesis shows you just how smart he is thanks to Millar's making everyone else out to be a moron, not through any genius of his own. Don't worry about the squad of trained mercs, the demolition guy, the disguise expert, or the computer hacker! I mean, what could they do? By all means, don't give the children police protection with them on the loose! Don't scrutinize Nemesis' guards too closely! Or arm the riot squad with anything but sticks. In fact, don't take any other measures while you've got this super-smart killer in the slammer. Whatever happens, don't notice the thousands of identical white cars being driven onto the prison compound, or wonder where the people who drove them there went or who they were!

Don't notice the emperor is butt-naked either.

Special thanks to GLX for saving the money I might have spent on this in trade.

Rain Partier

Remember when Mark Millar used to write smarter comics? Before he started writing comics for dummies? Because no one's as smart as Mark Millar, or the stand-ins for his juvenile violent daydreams, er I mean protagonists. Nemesis shows you just how smart he is thanks to Millar's making everyone else out to be a moron, not through any genius of his own. Don't worry about the squad of trained mercs, the demolition guy, the disguise expert, or the computer hacker! I mean, what could they do? By all means, don't give the children police protection with them on the loose! Don't scrutinize Nemesis' guards too closely! Or arm the riot squad with anything but sticks. In fact, don't take any other measures while you've got this super-smart killer in the slammer. Whatever happens, don't notice the thousands of identical white cars being driven onto the prison compound, or wonder where the people who drove them there went or who they were!

Don't notice the emperor is butt-naked either.

Special thanks to GLX for saving the money I might have spent on this in trade.

Staff Writer

Remember when Mark Millar used to write smart comics? Before he started writing comics for dummies? Because no one's as smart as Mark Millar, or the stand-ins for his juvenile violent daydreams, er I mean protagonists. Nemesis shows you just how smart he is thanks to Millar's making everyone else out to be a moron, not through any genius of his own. Don't worry about the squad of trained mercs, the demolition guy, the disguise expert, or the computer hacker! I mean, what could they do? By all means, don't give the children police protection with them on the loose! Don't scrutinize Nemesis' guards too closely! Or arm the riot squad with anything but sticks. In fact, don't take any other measures while you've got this super-smart killer in the slammer. Whatever happens, don't notice the thousands of identical white cars being driven onto the prison compound, or wonder where the people who drove them there went or who they were!

Don't notice the emperor is butt-naked either.

Special thanks to GLX for saving the money I might have spent on this in trade.

3

He never really did, he used to do stuff like Big Dave and The Authority. His work has always been puerile on some level. The thing is, now he's a big name he's doing creator-owned stuff and is not being held back by the editorial rules of taste that Marvel or Wildstorm would put on him.

Staff Writer

Remember when Mark Millar used to write smart comics? Before he started writing comics for dummies? Because no one's as smart as Mark Millar, or the stand-ins for his juvenile violent daydreams, er I mean protagonists. Nemesis shows you just how smart he is thanks to Millar's making everyone else out to be a moron, not through any genius of his own. Don't worry about the squad of trained mercs, the demolition guy, the disguise expert, or the computer hacker! I mean, what could they do? By all means, don't give the children police protection with them on the loose! Don't scrutinize Nemesis' guards too closely! Or arm the riot squad with anything but sticks. In fact, don't take any other measures while you've got this super-smart killer in the slammer. Whatever happens, don't notice the thousands of identical white cars being driven onto the prison compound, or wonder where the people who drove them there went or who they were!

Don't notice the emperor is butt-naked either.

Special thanks to GLX for saving the money I might have spent on this in trade.

3

He never really did, he used to do stuff like Big Dave and The Authority. His work has always been puerile on some level. The thing is, now he's a big name he's doing creator-owned stuff and is not being held back by the editorial rules of taste that Marvel or Wildstorm would put on him.

Rain Partier

Punchy wrote:He never really did, he used to do stuff like Big Dave and The Authority. His work has always been puerile on some level. The thing is, now he's a big name he's doing creator-owned stuff and is not being held back by the editorial rules of taste that Marvel or Wildstorm would put on him.

But there's nothing wrong with puerile.

I think you raise a fair point that he's never written smart comics. So I changed it to "smarter".

Rain Partier

Punchy wrote:He never really did, he used to do stuff like Big Dave and The Authority. His work has always been puerile on some level. The thing is, now he's a big name he's doing creator-owned stuff and is not being held back by the editorial rules of taste that Marvel or Wildstorm would put on him.

But there's nothing wrong with puerile.

I think you raise a fair point that he's never written smart comics. So I changed it to "smarter".

"Being offended is not to be confused with a state of grace; it’s the occasional price we all pay for living in an open society." -- Ian McEwan

Rain Partier

Punchy wrote:Were they smarter? Or just more novel? You've got used to his style by now, and it doesn't work for you anymore.

I think his "made for movies" style is not the same as his older style, and is predicated on the fallacy that Mark Millar can think of more violent, bloody, sexually twisted themes than his readers. (Which we know from the 20somethings here isn't true.) As regards to the old stuff, it's a question I can't answer for sure without re-reading some of the books I liked, and they aren't on hand anymore except for The Ultimates. No question I liked his first two volumes.

It could be like Hickman, where I'm now asking myself what I liked to begin with when I re-read Red Mass for Mars (but still need to re-read The Nightly News and read Transhuman for the first time).

Rain Partier

Punchy wrote:Were they smarter? Or just more novel? You've got used to his style by now, and it doesn't work for you anymore.

I think his "made for movies" style is not the same as his older style, and is predicated on the fallacy that Mark Millar can think of more violent, bloody, sexually twisted themes than his readers. (Which we know from the 20somethings here isn't true.) As regards to the old stuff, it's a question I can't answer for sure without re-reading some of the books I liked, and they aren't on hand anymore except for The Ultimates. No question I liked his first two volumes.

It could be like Hickman, where I'm now asking myself what I liked to begin with when I re-read Red Mass for Mars (but still need to re-read The Nightly News and read Transhuman for the first time).

"Being offended is not to be confused with a state of grace; it’s the occasional price we all pay for living in an open society." -- Ian McEwan